News
Close eye on possible pollution from sunken Iranian warship
View(s):By Kasun Warakapitiya
Police in Hikkaduwa and Meetiyagoda yesterday recovered fuel barrels and other items suspected to be from the Iranian war ship sunk off the south coast.
A senior official from the Meetiyagoda police said that one barrel that was found in their coastal area was handed over to the navy, while another barrel was located at Hikkaduwa
Meetiyagoda police said they had observed an oil smear along the shore line near Sinigama devalaya area.
A pair of shoes, a barrel and a life boat washed ashore in the area at Narigama,
Hikkaduwa. Pix by Dayasirilal Dammika and G.Ranmutu
A life boat, a pair of shoes and a barrel had also been washed ashore in the area at Narigama, Hikkaduwa.
Hikkaduwa police said they suspect the barrel was from the sunken Iranian ship.
The Marine Protection Authority said they have collected samples to verify whether the barrel belonged to the ship.
The detections came as Sri Lanka’s Coast Guard and other state agencies said they are monitoring a possible environmental impact of the sinking of an Iranian warship off the south coast, with warnings from environmentalists it may take time for any effects to emerge
The warship IRIS Dena sank after it was torpedoed by a US submarine, 19 nautical miles south of Sri Lanka on Wednesday.
A senior officer for the Sri Lanka Coast Guard told the Sunday Times that the situation is being monitored and they are standing by as the first responders to mitigate any adverse effects.
They are awaiting observations by both Sri Lankan air and naval forces as well as Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) to take necessary actions.
Coast Guard Deputy Director General, J. A. P.C. Jayasinghe said that the sunken ship contained bunk fuel, which could evaporate quickly in a short time.
Due to the northeastern monsoonal wind flow and water currents, if any oil leak had occurred, it would move away from Sri Lanka.
Mr Jayasinghe said that though they had not been informed of any environmental impact, they are awaiting a directive from MEPA, which is making an assessment.
He expressed concern regarding the armaments of the ship as they are unaware of the chemical components.
MEPA said that if there is an environmental impact due to a sinking of a ship, according to maritime law, compensation could be sought from the owner of the ship, or insurer. Compensation could be sought from Iran if the sunken ship causes any impact to the environment.
Chairman of the authority, Samantha Gunasekara, said that so far no oil spill had been reported to the maritime disaster network.
Mr Gunasekara said the shipwreck had sunk in deep seas. The explosion must have made an impact on marine life in the area, but so far there are no traces of an environmental impact.
However, Air Force media spokesman, Group Captain Nalin Wewakumbura, said that initially, during the rescue operation of the Iranian sailors, a small patch of oil was seen floating in the location where the sailors in life jackets as well as those on lifeboats were.
Navy Media Spokesman Commander Buddika Sampath said search and rescue continued Friday night. The navy prioritises human lives and other matters are secondary, he said.
He said a small oil patch was noticed and it was not considered as an adverse oil spread. The oil patch was seen near the area where the Iranian sailors were found.
The coast guard and the MEPA were not informed about the oil patch as it was small and was considered negative for an oil spread.
The National Aquatic Resource Research and Development Agency (NARA) said it is monitoring the situation.
The Deputy Director General (Research and Development), Dr. K.H.M.L. Amaralal, told the Sunday Times that though they have not received any information about an oil leak or any other environmental impact, they remain vigilant.
He claimed that though the ship sank around 30 kilometres from Sri Lanka in international waters, it is less likely to show an immediate effect on Sri Lankan waters due to water currents and wave conditions.
Dr Amaralal said that in some instances some shipwrecks sink with their fuel tanks in tact and over time release fuel, yet that too would be difficult to monitor as the ship had sunk in deep seas.
He said that the ship, which had armaments, would be in a deep area and salvaging them would be difficult.
Dr. P.B. Terney Pradeep Kumara, Oceanography, of the Department of Oceanography and Marine Geology at the Ruhuna University and Director General, Coast conservation and coastal resources management departmentsaid that the environmental impact could not be monitored from the shore and it could be monitored by aerial surveillance, satellite imagery. He said information gathered from civilian fishing boats and commercial flights would also help.
However, he said that the environmental impact could be less due to several factors that include wind and strong currents the variety of oil (Bunker oil) in the ship, and the quantity of armaments.
According to him, Sri Lanka is responsible for responding to mitigating environmental damage caused by the sunken ship, as the incident occurred within the Exclusive Economic zone.
However, he advised the authorities to handle the situation carefully. He said initially it would be difficult to put a case for pollution without strong evidence. He said the case must be handled diplomatically taking into account international law, legal boundaries and incident related matters.He explained that as the ship sank at a considerable distance from shore, the environmental impact would not be strongly felt, yet an oil spill could result. “There could be the possibilityof bunker oil seeping from the ship and floating, yet unlike crude oil, would evaporate; even during the blast that caused the ship to sink, the oil could have ignited and evaporated.’’
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